The First - Cheat Code

 

CHEAT CODE

A tale of a (food) trier

This is my first foray into publicly written words, so I'm not about to delve into any touchy subjects here and perhaps I never will. There's enough controversy in the world and I feel that something light hearted is called for, or entertaining at the very least.

Now you'll have to bear with me as I navigate this modern world while I am a self-confessed dinosaur when it comes media of the social kind (bestie can confirm). I totally have the hang of Instagram and that's really about it. No shame. I am however, forever a trier with a serious (perhaps somewhat unhealthy) willingness to fail; so here I go on my internet foray into the unknown.

On that note of heading for the unknown; I think a lot of us sit around thinking about doing things rather than actually doing them for fear of.. I don't know. Judgement perhaps? Failure itself surely can't be it because if something fails, so what? The thought of being seen failing is perhaps much more daunting. At what point did we become so affected by the thought of other peoples opinions? Considering the fact they are entirely imaginary...

Now this could take a turn for some very deep subjects but as promised - I SHALL NOT! For we are here for food, fitness and health. On occasion I will teach you something new, I'll also talk about a lot of stuff you already know but perhaps aren't putting to use. Consider this your push and motivation to actually do it. I realise, by now you have clocked that I am a literary goddess and I could simply woo you with my witty banter for the remainder of this post but I think it's better to move onto more useful things, don't you?

Cooking.

It really isn't as daunting or difficult as many people believe. It's perfectly easy to eat yummy things without having an extensive knowledge of lengthly kitchen processes. Simple food can be amazing. The problem seems to be that no one is eating for survival anymore so it has become a "thing". Like "oh yeah he/she cooks" or "yeah he/she knows how to bake", as if though it's some exotic hobby bestowed upon the minority and not a means to stay alive. "One must eat to stay alive" - catchy name for a fancy new diet. Claiming it.

Put aside the thought that you'll never be good at cooking and accept that there will come a time when you won't have a choice. Dire circumstances are where heroes are made. By dire circumstances I mean: you no longer have access to your delivery service and the cook and your mum left the house at the same time (if you're here in Kuwait), and you are left to fend for yourself. The horror.

Once you have gathered yourself and gotten over the initial shock, you will remember that you have that worldwide encyclopaedia attached to your hand and you can in fact find the answer to everything and anything. You are already going to fail less than I did simply because I entered the kitchen in a time before the internet. Lucky, lucky you. As I write, I realise some of you most likely don't know what an encyclopaedia is or even begin to understand the concept of life without internet. Di-no-saur. For the record, yes, I did have internet for the majority of my life but the availability of the information out there now is immense, leaving no excuse for kitchen conundrums.

Back to having the 2023 internet... Every recipe is there at your fingertips, yes, but more importantly; so are the videos and instructions for the "kitchen how". Boiling water (incredible how it makes some foods soft and some foods hard - science), pan frying, oven baking etc, all covered regardless of what level of I-don't-cook you are. Not to mention, the air fryer (microwave of the modern age) now exists which basically requires nothing more than a functioning hand to operate. Chopping and prepping sounding like hard work? Grab your kitchen scissors and chop it all straight into the pan (with karate kid sound effects "HAY-A"). Is the simplicity of kitchen life starting to dawn on you yet? It should be.

So here goes my life hack. The thing to change your life. THE CHEAT CODE.

Go in the kitchen and see what happens. That's what I did. Without the internet, like a cavewoman (armed with scissors) and I damn well survived so you can too. This sadly does not exclude you from probably almost setting the kitchen on fire (been there, done that). Consider it the rite of passage, a learning curve if you will as practical lessons tend to stick. Jokes aside, you'll be fine.

If I haven't lost your interest by this point, dare I say "see you on the next one" and look forward to having you join me on my kitchen triumphs, the many, many failures and occasional it'll-save-your-life tips which I'll be sharing here... and I really hope I inspire you to venture into the kitchen, like a trier.

Picture: My Turkish eggs with homemade chilli butter